Spirit of Service Award caps Barnes' ODU football career

The coach and counselor couldn't call back fast enough. Yes, this was two days before Christmas, and both were pressed for time, but the topic du jour, like the holiday itself, warmed their hearts.

Nate Barnes.

"He left an impact on our program greater than he'll ever know," Old Dominion football coach Bobby Wilder said.

"Anything for Nate," said Cathy Thaden of Saint Patrick Catholic School in Norfolk. "He's an awesome kid."

Barnes is the first to concede that he was not an awesome player. A 2009 graduate of Newport News' Heritage High School, he made only 29 tackles in four seasons as a defensive lineman at ODU.

Yet Barnes was a Monarchs captain as a senior, a leader on the field and in the community, and last week he was among 16 recipients of Conference USA's Spirit of Service Award.

ODU won 46 games during Barnes' five seasons in the program, staggering for a startup operation. But Barnes considers the conference recognition his career highlight.

"Community service for me started in the church," he said. "I grew up at Calvary Seventh-day Adventist. It's something I've always enjoyed doing. I've just always loved helping people. Anything I can do."

At Calvary, it was serving food to the hungry, handing out clothes to the homeless and witnessing for God. At ODU, it is mentoring two boys at Saint Patrick, helping with the university's bone marrow drive and volunteering with Special Olympics.

Barnes earned a degree in human services, plans to attend graduate school and hopes to become a counselor. So his work at Saint Patrick has been especially rewarding.

At 6-foot-5, 270 pounds, Barnes is a big teddy bear to most kids. But his time with an eighth-grader and third-grader at Saint Patrick has a serious bent, too. Barnes helps them with motivation, self-worth and values.

Both boys, the eighth-grader in particular, are big and athletically inclined. In Barnes they can see a well-rounded, educated man whose life includes far more than sports.

"These kids, they don't have a lot of positive male role models," said Thaden, the Saint Patrick fundraiser who guides Barnes' interactions with the students. "He came to their Christmas performance. He's just been in their lives.

"I think it's too early to say if he's made a permanent difference, but I think he will. ... He's just there for them. He's filled a void that they both have."

Raised primarily by his mother and grandmother, Barnes understands the challenges inherent in single-parent homes. That's why he's so determined to be a consistent presence for his son, David, who turns 3 in February.

David likes nothing better than to drag Dad to the playground, and Dad is all-in, with one non-negotiable rule that informs his work at Saint Patrick as well.

"The only thing that upsets me is when he's not respectful to others," Barnes said of David. "That's a big thing to me. I feel like you can't earn respect unless you give it first. ... Manners really carry you a long way. I wouldn't be where I am without manners and being respectful to others."

I first met Barnes when he was a fifth-grader at Hilton Elementary, so suffice to say, I'm struck by how he's grown, physically and spiritually. Count Wilder in that group, too.

Coach and player clashed early and often, and there were times Wilder wondered if Barnes was worth the headache. Then Wilder would remind himself that well-intended young men such as Barnes, even when they stray, are what make coaching so rewarding.

"Even when he and I had philosophical differences," Wilder said, "he was always active in the community. Nate has a heart of gold. That's been evident since the day I met him. ... He always has time. Nate is never in a hurry to leave a situation that involves a young person."

And Barnes' outreach extended beyond the structured settings of Saint Patrick or a Special Olympics competition. During his playing career, Barnes would drive around Norfolk and hand out the Monarchs' leftover snacks and apparel to those in need.

Barnes needs surgery on a knee he injured in the season finale at North Carolina, and following rehab, he hopes to enroll in graduate school at ODU. The university has served him well, and Barnes is especially grateful to professors Eddie Hill and Tammi Milliken, and academic adviser Lori Friel.

"Now that I've been a part of Old Dominion, I want to spread its good name," Barnes said, the ODU logo prominent on his warm-up suit. "This is one of the ways I can say thanks to the school for helping me out. Everywhere I go, I want to uphold the Old Dominion name. I'm proud to be a Monarch."

The Monarchs should be equally proud of Nate Barnes.

Teel can be reached by phone at 757-247-4636 or by email at dteel@dailypress.com. For more from Teel, read his blog at dailypress.com/teeltime and follow him on Twitter @DavidTeelatDP.